The War for the Dragon

The Imperfect

There is a knock on the door, and Haruka answers it. A pregnant woman holding flowers smiles at Haruka before entering. She spots me and gives a surprised look at Kaito. How does she know him?

"How are you feeling, Hun? Who are these people," she asks while smiling at us and rubbing her huge belly. Her eyes and hair are dark brown. Her hair is up in a bun, the same hairstyle as my mother always has it. I immediately feel a disturbance in my heart as I see her engagement ring. Why did she call him Hun?

"This is... Ryuunosuke... And his little brother Haruka. Ryuunosuke and Haruka, this is Kohaku Yoshida... Soon to be... Kohaku Koneko..." Kaito's words are extremely soft spoken and slow. I then notice the silver ring on his finger. She is having his baby? This is the girl that he gave his virginity to? I feel a lump begin to form in my throat, but I never let the tears fall. I have had enough.

Haruka places his hand on my shoulder, and at that moment, Kanashimi enters.

"Sorry I didn't come in sooner. Hime is watching Katsumi outside now. Hello! Nice to meet you! I'm Kanashimi Mizutani. I suppose you are Kaito Koneko, but who is this lovely woman," Kanashimi says as she addresses each one of us. Kohaku places the flowers on the dresser next to Kaito's monitors and bows at Kanashimi after making her distance when noticing her eyes.

"I'm Kohaku Yoshida, Kaito's fiancé. It's nice to meet you, Mizutani-san. So, Ryuunosuke, you finally decide to return after leaving Kaito? I can't help but feel like you only wish to torture him more. I think it's fairly obvious that I am carrying his child, and even though we only just graduated high school, he will be spending his life with me. You're no longer needed here," Kohaku says as she sits next to Kaito on his hospital bed. Kanashimi walks over to her and smacks her across the face, leaving not only a red mark, but also a scratch caused by her nails. I look up at the sound, slowly realizing that my head was down as I wallowed in my own self pity. I feel my heart drop to my stomach as I see that Kaito got up and shielded Kohaku from Kanashimi's blow. He began to bleed, and I got up without a word as I nodded at them to follow me. We all exit the hospital and I greet Hime as Katsumi puts her paws on my shoulders and licks my face.

"Ryuunosuke... How are you feeling?" I turn to Kanashimi's soft voice. I smile at her, ignoring all of the pain I feel.

"I feel like I want to complete the mission and get the fuck out of this damn place," I say, bitterness in my voice.

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We meet up with Chiharu in the apartment Dr. Takehiro set up for us. It is very spacious and each person has their own bed, including Satoshi and Katsumi. It's a traditional Japanese apartment with sliding paper doors for each room, and pillows on the floors as seats next to a table. The fridge is stocked to the brim with food that can be easily made, and the freezer is practically bursting with raw meat and frozen packets of blood. There are blood cans in the fridge along with everyone's favorite foods. However, they don't know my favorite foods. They only realize that I love sweets and an American drink called AriZona iced tea, which comes in tall cans. Kanashimi lingers at my side and I can sense her worry.

"Kanashimi, Aniki, Chiharu wants to have a meeting in the living room about the guy we are supposed to kill," Haruka says as he pops into the kitchen and then heads to the living room. I smile at Kanashimi's and then head to the living room too. I kneel on a pillow placed at the dining table.

"I have done research on the man Father wants dead, and he seems to be a man who dedicated his entire life to leading massacres of one specific race. The ατελή. In Greek, it translates to 'imperfect.' Greece being the closest to their secret land, they have adopted the Greek language, but they also use many other languages. The Imperfects are known for their traits; red eyes and black hair. Although cases are rare, some of them have used ships to find their way onto actual official continents and adopt the culture of where they live, using colored contacts to survive. The man we are ordered to kill has killed most of the Imperfects who set foot on soil that is not their own. I still haven't figured out why he does this, but it doesn't matter. Who is ready to take him down tonight," Chiharu asks after filling us in on what she has found.

I look at Kanashimi, who is tightening her fist so much that her knuckles are white. Her face is completely flushed, as if she has seen a ghost. I look at Haruka who has noticed her expression, and I sense his intense anger towards the man who kills. I stand and all eyes go to me.

"I am ready. Let's discuss a strategy after we get dressed and get all of our supplies," I say as I walk into my room and go straight for my luggage. I remove all clothes besides the spandex suit, which I now notice is specially designed for each one of us. Enough of my back is exposed for my wings to be released, and the suit is really warm. I look at the bottom of my feet and poke it with my finger. Should I wear shoes? I don't think anything could hurt the rough pads on my feet, and so I decide to go barefoot. I don't really think I'll need weapons. I look into the mirror and see that my face has matured a little, and that my hair has grown to my shoulders. I tie my hair into a low ponytail and smile into the mirror. My dimples show, and I begin to realize how much I have changed.

"We have both changed, huh, Kaito," I whisper to myself in the mirror. Katsumi then nudges my shin with her lowered snout and I decide to get her ready. As much as I dislike the fact that she'd have to be in danger, Katsumi always makes it clear that she will not stand back and cower when things get rough. I put Katsumi's spandex suit on, and pack the side pockets with first aid supplies and the weapons that she had been trained to hand to the others when they are in trouble. I feel the texture of her suit and notice that it's bulletproof but extremely durable.

I head into the living room where we had the meeting earlier and see a seated Kanashimi gazing down at her fisted white knuckles. Her back is showing in her suit to allow her wings to be set free. I then notice that her wings are also tattooed onto her back just as mine are. One of her wings is white feathered, while the other is pitch black and demonic, resembled in a tribal tattoo. Her ebony hair is tied up but some hair rebels against her hair tie, and falls gracefully on her shoulders. Just as my suit is green striped, hers is red striped. I look over at Katsumi's suit and notice that it is green striped like mine. At the sound of footsteps, I look up, and so does Kanashimi.

Haruka walks in with a blue striped suit, which is longer at the sleeves and ends at the pads of his feet, gripping the arch of his foot, but letting his toes and heels be free. I notice that Kanashimi has the same design on the feet, but I don't.

"Do I look hot," I say, winking at Haruka and flexing my biceps. He raises his eyebrow at me.

"Do you feel like you have a fever, Aniki?" I laugh at Haruka's innocence. Chiharu then walks out with Satoshi, both in purple striped suits. I then notice that all suits are identical besides mine and those of the animals. The colors are different for some as well.

"Is everyone prepared?" My voice wavers a bit, but I clear my throat and repeat myself. Everyone nods, and we climb onto the roof of our apartment complex and Chiharu transforms into a giant leopard, leading us to our target. Kanashimi and I take to the sky when Haruka transforms into a giant black wolf with piercing green eyes. Satoshi and Katsumi obey the wolf clearly larger than both of them combined.

I smile as my wings finally stretch their full length and the air caresses me, welcoming me for the first time. I spiral but make sure not to lose the others. Kanashimi flies slightly closer to the ground, watching Haruka with a smile on her face. The others all run in the direction Chiharu leads.

Wait, did we set up a plan? What was the plan? We forgot to set up a plan!

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Ahh! Sorry the chapter took so long to create, and that the next chapter may take a long time too! I hope this was worth the wait! 💙